The present disclosure relates to portable circular saws, and particularly to a display for indicating a saw's cutting depth.
Circular saws are typically provided with the capability of adjusting the depth of cut (DOC) relative to the workpiece. In using a circular saw, it is desirable from a cutting performance standpoint that the cutting blade extends a predetermined distance below the surface of the workpiece being cut. That predetermined distance is typically one tooth depth to avoid splintering as the cut is made.
In a typical circular saw 10, depicted in FIG. 1, a pivoting assembly 11 includes a motor housing 12 with a hand grip for guiding the saw during a cut. The motor housing and hand grip are mounted to an upper guard 16 that shrouds the upper portion of the cutting blade 18. The upper guard of the pivoting assembly 11 is pivotably mounted to a foot 20 at a pivot mount 17 (FIG. 2). The foot 20 is planar and adapted for sliding along the workpiece during a cut. The foot 20 defines a slot 22 (FIG. 1) through which the cutting blade extends.
The upper guard 16 is pivotably mounted to the foot 20 to allow the entire assembly of the motor, guard and cutting blade to pivot in the direction P (FIG. 2) relative to or away from the foot 20. In an initial position, as depicted in FIGS. 1-2, the cutting blade extends at its maximum DOC As the pivoting assembly 11 is pivoted upward in the direction P, the DOC is decreased.
The circular saw 10 incorporates a mechanism for permitting adjustment of the DOC and fixing the cutting blade at the particular pivot angle corresponding to that DOC. Thus, in certain saws, a DOC bracket 24 (FIG. 1) projects perpendicularly upward from the back edge of the foot 20 and generally parallel with the upper guard 16. An adjustment rod 26 extends from the upper guard 16 (and/or the hand grip 14) and through a slot 25 in the bracket 24. An adjustment lever 28 may be provided to manually loosen or tighten the rod relative to the bracket 24 in a known manner. When the lever 28 is released or manipulated to release the clamping force between the rod 26 and the DOC bracket 24, the pivoting assembly 11 can be pivoted in the direction P, after which the lever 28 can be returned to its locking position to fix the pivoting assembly at a desired orientation.
In order to determine the actual DOC of the cutting blade, a scale 30 is provided on the upper guard 16. A tab 32 projecting from the depth adjustment bracket 24 points to a particular depth value on the scale. As can be seen from FIGS. 1-2, the scale 30 and tab 32 are best viewed from one end of the saw 10. Moreover, due to the orientation of the scale the user must typically bend down to achieve a more horizontal line of sight in order to accurately read the DOC value. At a minimum, requiring the user to bend down in order to read the DOC value is uncomfortable to the user. In the worst case, the user cannot bend to the optimal line of sight and thus misreads the DOC value. There is therefore a need for a DOC scale that can be accurately read without requiring any physical gyrations by the user.